Hi friends. Man oh man. The last two weeks were pretty wild. On Friday (9/16), my car was rear-ended while I was at a stop light. I’m pretty sure the guy who hit me was on his phone. Christopher was in the car with me and it was absolutely terrifying. He was startled by the noise and the jolt but thankfully, he is ok. My car, not so much. I found out on Friday (9/23) that it was totaled. So now I have a new car with two new car seats. We have Geico insurance and they made everything really simple. They set me up with a rental, reimbursed us for the new car seats, and every time I spoke with someone they made sure to as if my baby was ok. It made a shitty situation better.

I definitely cut out a few of the easy runs during the last 2 weeks but overall I got my speed work and long runs done and that is what is important (to me, anyway).

Despite being nervous about having to run 13.1 miles, the half marathon was the highlight of Week 6. This race was a perfect addition to my schedule. I was able to knock out a long run (while hitting my goal paces) on a beautiful course that was close to home.

The goal was first 8 easy, last 5 around 8:00 pace or a decent effort. I hit the 5 mile mark at 43:45 (8:45 avg), the 10 mile mark at 1:25:30 (8:21 avg) and the last 5k with an 8:08 avg pace.

#AMERICA

I am definitely happy with the finish. I felt really good for most of the race. The course was never crowded and the views were awesome.

If you live in the area, I highly recommend this race! It is only $50, packet pickup is a breeze, and the after party is really fun and has great food!

I did the 400m repeats after work. I was SO nervous! 6 or 8 was probably the most I’ve done. It was a tough workout but I am so happy to have finished feeling pretty strong! Goal was 1:32-1:35. Actual: 1:38, 1:35, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36, 1:37, 1:34, 1:34, 1:37, 1:38, 1:37, 1:36 (pace range 6:16-6:32).

On Sunday morning, I PR’d the 10 miler! I wasn’t planning on racing at all. I just had a long run on my schedule but then Lindsey told me to go for it so I figured, why not? I was mentally all set to give it a go until the morning before the race. On Saturday, we went to a brew fest and despite being in bed by 9, I was pretty hungover when I woke up (I am old AF).

After getting to the race and doing a warmup, I felt pretty good so I decided to stick with the plan to race but without putting too much pressure on myself. I figured I could always slow down if I felt anything but good. Luckily, I felt great the entire time!!! The course is so awesome. It’s mostly an out and back, has some pretty decent hills, and a killer downhill finish.

I am so damn happy. I didn’t think I could handle this pace yet. Chris is only 6 months old! I never felt like this even when Jennie was over 1. My postpartum running experiences are essentially opposite. Last time it felt like a chore, this time it feels right. It goes to show that comparing yourself to others (and especially your past self) is never a good idea.

This race was a huge confidence booster. I am so pumped for the rest of training.

You are also a wild child that is always moving! You can roll across the room in a few seconds. You are always on your hands and knees and you can also do an impressive downward facing dog.

You can officially push yourself into a sit position and stay there for some time. You’re going to crawl real soon. You have two teeth (that resemble razorblades). You eat “solid” food twice a day. YOU ARE CHANGING SO FAST!

This month brought the most important change ever: you stopped throwing up (as often). GAME. CHANGER. You gained a little more weight this month than you have the preceding moths and I am so happy. I was so sad that you weren’t gaining a lot of weight because of the puking! The mom guilt is real.

You’re 16 lb 5 oz and 27 1/4 in tall. I’m starting to really notice that you’re growing when I hold you at night. Most nights, you fall asleep in my arms after you nurse. Lately, I just see that you’re bigger. I know that 6 months is when babies become really fun, and that is true for you too, so I am excited that you’re growing. I just know it happens in the blink of an eye and it’s just as sad as it is fun.

My favorite thing is watching you and your sister. You seem to adore her. You’re always smiling at her and trying to touch her. She loves you too and always gives you a lot of hugs and kisses.

I remember writing a post when your sister was little about how weird it is when people ask if your baby is “a good baby“. I am now eating my words because you are actually the definition of a good baby. Always happy. Always smiling. Always calm. Please stay this way 🙂 I love you very much!

Hi friends! Quick catch up on the life side. Last week was my first week at the new J O B and I was training and working a little later each night. This week, I am adjusting to my new schedule and so far I am loving how close I am to home. My new commute is about 10 minutes and doesn’t include any traffic (except for some school crossings) and I don’t have to be at the mercy of a train schedule for the first time IN MY WORKING ADULT LIFE. Hallelujah.

Also, Friday (9/9) was my birthday and the weekend was amazing! I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant (Red Cadillac, Union, NJ) on Friday night with Fizz and some of my friends. Margaritas for life. On Saturday morning my family met us at the zoo and then we had lunch. On Sunday, we tailgated and went to the Jets game. Everything was fun. I drank a lot. I love babysitters.

Training is going well. I have had a few bad runs and a few great runs. Most are average.

I usually like to work out in the morning because I want to drink wine immediately when I walk in the door from work and hate that a pending run puts a hold on that. I’ve had a rough go at waking up lately due to the unpredictable sleep patterns of my son. Sometimes he wakes up early in the night (11 PM – 1 AM), sometimes he wakes up at 4 AM or 5 AM or 6 AM. I just never know and that makes it hard to plan an early morning workout. Ideally, he gets up around 4:45: I can nurse him, put him back to bed, drink coffee, and pump and then still have time to get a decent run in before work. Since my ideal situation rarely happens, I have been working out at night after both kids are in bed (8:30-9:30 start). I don’t love late night workouts but beggars can’t be choosers so I am doing my best to get them done.

Week 4

M 8/29: off

T 8/30: 3 mi easy

W 8/31: 5 mi (3 x 1 mile @ 7:03, 6:58, 6:58)

Th 9/1: 30 min strength

F 9/2: off

S 9/3: 3 mi easy

Su 9/4: 10.25 mi (8:32 avg)

Week 4 Total: 21.25 mi

My mile repeats on 8/31 are definitely the best workout of this training cycle so far. I didn’t feel like I was putting in too much of an effort (maybe 5 or 6 out of 10). They just felt good. Simple as that.

My long run on 9/4 was my first attempt at dropping the pace a bit for a longer distance. I can admit it didn’t feel great for the first few miles but my last two were 8:00 each and they felt smooth so I am happy about that.

Week 5

M 9/5: off

T 9/6: 4.6 mi easy

W 9/7: 15 min strength

Th 9/8: 4.9 mi (20 min: 1 min on, 1.5 min off)

F 9/9: 15 min strength

S 9/10: 8 mi (9:19 avg)

Su 9/11: off

Week 4 Total: 17.5 mi

For the speed workout on 9/8, I was going by effort and my “on” pace was similar to a 5k pace and my “off” pace was easy.

Right now I am doing some basic HIIT workouts that don’t take a lot of time (I make them up as I go) but I feel like I need more structure so I am going to add some T25 back into my routine for strength days.

This Sunday I am running the Newport Half Marathon (in Jersey City, NJ). I am using it as a training run (the plan is to do the first 8 mi around 8:30-9 and then drop to 8:00 or less for the last 5). For long runs (even before training started) I have been consistently running 7-9 miles each week and did one 10-miler during week 4. Those are obviously way less than 13.1 miles, so I am a little nervous for the distance. I am, however, excited for the race itself. It’s only about 25 min from my house and it is super well-organized and the course views during the second half of the race are awesome (NYC skyline)!

Meet Ashley

Welcome to Running Bun! I am Ashley, a working-mom who loves running and training for races, attempting yoga inversions, a strong cocktail, and a good dose of sarcasm. This blog is where I share a lot of random thoughts about the above with some parenting woes mixed in for good measure.